Hunter - Big Girls & Bad Boys (6 page)

“That’s my job, not who I am. You refer to yourself as an anti-war activist. Is that all you are?” he asked me.

“No!” I said immediately. That was something I was passionate about but there was more. I was a woman. I liked movies and good food. I enjoyed hiking in the woods and going to the ocean. Sure, I sounded like a bad singles ad but that’s who I was. I guess Hunter was no different.

“Look, I love what I do...most of it anyway. Probably for the same reasons you protest. I feel like I’m doing some good. I feel like I’m helping make the world a better place,” Hunter told me. I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. What he did made the world worse off, right? That’s what I believed. That’s what the people I knew thought and with even more conviction than I did.

“I guess I never thought about it that way. I’ve never really met a soldier or Marine, well, not on active duty. I’ve met a few veterans that protest the wars. They don’t give me the impression they see things the way you do,” I said. Hunter considered that before replying.

“Let me be frank. I don’t blow up villages. I don’t kill babies. I don’t rape women. I kill bad guys. Bad guys that do those things and more. It’s not pretty and I’ve seen things I’d rather forget. War isn’t good but as bad as it is, you have to wonder what the alternative is. How many innocents would have suffered and died at the hands of the bad guys otherwise?” Hunter explained.

Suddenly, I saw things in a way that I hadn’t considered before. I didn’t abandon my principles but I did see the other side of things. Hunter wasn’t advocating war as a solution to the problems the world faced. He was simply saying that sometimes it was better than the alternative. I wasn’t sure that was always the case but I could understand how sometimes war might be the lesser of two evils.

“But isn’t war sometimes worse?” I asked.

“Of course. Nothing, especially war, is perfect. I don’t think you and I are all that far apart on this. I’m not an advocate of war either. I’m just willing to go fight one if my country asks me to. I’m not the enemy but sometimes I feel like protesters lose sight of the real enemy in favor of demonizing men and women like me. They forget that I might kill for a living but those I kill would happily kill all of us if they could,” Hunter told me.

“I can’t argue with that. I never saw members of the military as the enemy,” I told him.

“I know. But you do see us as victims. Generally, we volunteered for this. I knew what was going on when I joined. So do most of the guys I serve with. I’m not a victim, Mel,” he told me.

“I know...enough of this, okay?”

“Too much?” Hunter asked me.

“I just need to grind on it a while. I think you’re right. We’re not that far apart,” I told him.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to monologue,” Hunter told me.

“No, I probably deserved it after my speech at dinner back in the fall. On the other hand, I didn’t walk out when you droned on,” I said playfully.

“Well, it is your dorm room so...,” Hunter replied. I smiled at him.

“You want to fuck again?” I asked him. I was eager to indulge myself in this man. Though we talked about our differences, I really could care less laying here with Hunter. He was a good man and though we didn’t agree on our philosophy, I found it didn’t matter. Some things are more important.

“You’re insatiable, Mel. You’re going to wear me out,” Hunter joked.

“Suck it up, grunt!” I told Hunter as I rolled him onto his back and straddled him. He sat up on his elbows and kissed me.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. Corny military references? For sure. But I enjoyed our free and easy banter. It seemed there was little we could say to one another that would upset the other...our first date notwithstanding. I wished we could just stay like this, naked and alone or at least alone without the troubles and tragedy of the real world to intrude.

We made love again that night and slept in each other’s arms after. In the morning, Hunter and I rose early. We’d had plenty of sleep. I guess that’s what happens when you lock yourself in a room in the middle of the day. You end up going to sleep rather early.

I was nervous but not overly so. I enjoyed Christmas even if the holiday at home with my parents wasn’t all that peaceful. In fact, I kind of missed the whole process. I hadn’t decorated my dorm room since I was a freshman. I usually went home but even when I didn’t, like this year, it just wasn’t a priority.

The dorms were mostly empty and it was easy to sneak Hunter into the girls’ showers with me. We showered together but resisted the temptation to do more. After our shower, we dressed and left to go to Hunter’s home. I was in fresh clothes and Hunter assured me he would change once we got there.

“Your family is going to know what we did,” I observed as we drove across the city.

“So?” he wondered.

“So, you don’t mind?” I asked.

“My family is pretty open minded. I’m an adult and my folks don’t have any illusions that I’m some kind of a choir boy,” Hunter explained.

“I see,” I replied.

“Does it bother you?” he asked. It did for some reason. I considered why I worried about what his parents would think knowing we’d had sex.

“I don’t want them to think poorly of me,” I told him.

“You don’t want them to think you’re easy,” he remarked.

“Yeah, I guess,” I told him. I wanted to make a good impression and that surprised me.

“You are easy,” Hunter said and smiled at me. I slugged him in the arm. “Don’t worry, they aren’t like that. You’ll see,” he assured me.

“Okay. I’ll try to relax,” I said and took a deep breath. I so wanted to make a good impression on Hunter’s family. I barely knew the man but I couldn’t deny that I liked him. I wanted his family to like me in return. We arrived and Hunter kissed me before we went inside. He took my hand, opened the front door and walked in.

The house, a modest home in a modest neighborhood, was warm and cheerful. Decorations covered the walls and lined the mantle. The tree wasn’t large but it was twinkling with lights and heavy with ornaments. An older man looked up from his tablet.

“Merry Christmas,” he remarked.

“Merry Christmas, Dad,” Hunter said and then looked at me. “I hope you don’t mind, I brought a friend,” he said.

“A friend, eh?” Hunter’s dad said as he set his tablet aside and stood. He walked over and stood before us.

“This is Mel...Melinda,” Hunter said and then continued. “This is my dad, Nate,” Hunter said by way of introduction.

“Nice to meet you, Melinda,” Nate told me.

“Is that Hunter?” a female voice called from the kitchen.

“Yes and he’s brought a friend,” Nate announced. A pretty older woman emerged. As Hunter told me, she was full-bodied but not like me. Her breasts were big and heavy, her hips round but she wasn’t really overweight.

“You should have said something, Hunter,” she said as she joined Nate. “I’m Hunter’s mom, Penny,” she told me.

“I’m Melinda...Mel,” I replied. I always referred to myself as Melinda until that moment. Most people did but Hunter called me Mel from the get go and I guess it was growing on me. I held out my hand to shake Penny’s. I wasn’t sure if Hunter’s parents were all that happy about my presence until Penny shook her head, ignored my hand and hugged me.

“Welcome and Merry Christmas,” she said.

“Thanks,” I replied.

“Make yourself at home. Breakfast will be ready in a little while,” Penny told me.

“Can I help?” I asked politely.

“I could use a hand. The other girls are doing heaven knows what,” Penny said. Girls? I assumed Hunter’s sister would be here but who was the other girl or girls?

“I heard that mom,” a voice called from down the hallway. “I’m almost ready,” the voice, Hunter’s sister I assumed, added.

“She always made us wait to open presents. Indigo always had to do her hair and put on makeup,” Penny told me as she led me away. I looked back at Hunter and he winked at me. I smiled and followed Penny.

“I heard that too, mom,” the voice, Indigo apparently, said. Penny smiled at me mischievously.

“She’s a princess,” Penny told me.

“Mom!” Indigo shouted. Penny laughed, obviously enjoying ribbing her daughter. I could see where Hunter got his easy going sense of humor.

“Do you mind cracking those eggs into the bowl?” Penny asked.

“No, whatever you need,” I assured her. I went about breaking the eggs and then took some initiative. It was obvious we were making scrambled eggs so I whipped up the eggs, seasoned them and preheated the skillet sitting on the stove.

“Oh good. You know your way around. I really appreciate the help,” Penny told me once she saw I wasn’t waiting for direction.

“No problem,” I said as a beautiful young woman walked in. She was a brunette with what most people would call a perfect body, a younger, more slender version of Penny.

“Oh, I didn’t know we had a guest,” she remarked upon seeing me.

“Indigo, Mel. Mel, Indigo. Indi, get the biscuits out of the oven, would you?” Penny said.

“Sure, mom,” Indigo replied. “Nice to meet you. You here with Hunter?” Indigo asked as she did as her mother requested.

“Yeah,” I told her as another woman with short bleached blond hair, tattoos and black-rimmed glasses walked in and kissed Indigo. This one was tall and for lack of a better term, manly.

“Hey, sexy,” Indigo greeted her. “This is Mel. Mel, this is my wife, Sandy,” she told me. I was surprised that Indigo was a lesbian but not shocked. I knew plenty of gay and lesbian couples. They were fairly common in these parts. But Hunter hadn’t said anything so I was caught off guard for a moment.

“Merry Christmas,” I greeted Sandy.

“Same to you. Hunter has a girlfriend?” she remarked. I thought that over as Indigo and Penny looked at me, waiting, it seemed, to see what I’d say.

“I guess he does,” I replied. Sandy smiled at me and then walked over and kissed Penny on the cheek.

“How’s mom this morning?” Sandy asked.

“Busy. Mind getting the orange juice, pouring the coffee in the carafe and taking them to the table? Oh, and grab the extra chair from my sewing room for Mel too,” Penny asked.

“I’m on it,” Sandy said and went about her tasks. When she left to get the chair, Indigo leaned over as we worked.

“No one told you I was a lesbian,” she said, more a statement than a question.

“No. Was it that obvious?” I asked.

“Sort of,” Indigo replied.

“You two make a cute couple,” I told her to let Indigo know I wasn’t uptight about it.

“Thanks,” she told me and smiled at me. We went about making breakfast and soon the six of us were seated around the table. Instead of the grilling I might have expected, the seemingly close knit family treated me as if I was a normal and longtime fixture. They inquired about my life in general but didn’t delve too deep.

“She’s an anti-war activist,” Hunter told them after I explained where I went to school. He seemed almost proud of the fact.

“That must be interesting,” Nate remarked dryly. The family seemed as unflappable and easy-going as Hunter was.

“Oh, it is. On our first date, Hunter left me at the restaurant alone. I had to take a bus back to school,” I told them. Indigo laughed.

“Way to go, bro,” she teased him.

“Honestly, I deserved it. I gave him an earful after I discovered he was a Marine,” I said